Sherman’s stance against legislating what a player can or cannot say is perhaps unsurprising given his outspoken nature, though he did expand on his comments later in the piece, acknowledging that the N-word possesses a problematic distinction depending upon who uses it:

Sherman emphasized that the N-word ending in “-er” is racist, but the N-word ending in “-a” is not, when used among African-American players.

“It’s in the locker room and on the field at all times,” Sherman said. “I hear it almost every series out there on the field.”

The conversation about the N-word comes a couple of weeks after Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark revealed that team chairman Dan Rooney had asked the Steelers to stop using the word in team facilities. According to Clark, players briefly stopped using the word, but fell back into old habits fairly quickly.

“You stopped hearing it immediately that day,” Clark told ESPN. “But after a while it came back because it’s the culture. After a while it comes back because this is what these guys have grown up with.”

One of the proponents of the rule — which King maintains is unlikely to pass this offseason — is New York Giants Hall-of-Fame linebacker Harry Carson, whose perspective differs sharply from Sherman’s. “I find it very disheartening that in our society today we’re having a debate about the N-words being used as a term of endearment,” Carson told King. “If that’s a term of endearment, go up to your grandfather, or an elderly black person, and use it on them. See how they react. For those who use it, I say they have no sense of history.”

What do you think? Should the NFL be able to penalize a player for the language he uses?

Should the NFL penalize players for using the n-word on the field?

Yes! It's simply a racial slur and has no place in the game of football.

Maybe. It's a terrible word, but I don't think it's their place to tell players what they can/can't say.

No! The word's meaning has obviously changed over time, and banning it sets a horrible precedent.